Ridgewood schools superintendent: Technology education is equal at schools
TUESDAY JULY 16, 2013, 9:33 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
At least one villager recently expressed concern about possible technology education inequality in Ridgewood’s various elementary schools, but Ridgewood Schools Superintendent Daniel Fishbein believes parents need not worry.
In a letter in The Ridgewood News last month, resident Meegan Shevlin said her concern was prompted by a March story about the district’s increased emphasis on classroom technology use. The story highlighted a presentation Willard School gave the Board of Education (BOE), during which the school highlighted its classroom iPad usage.
“When can parents in the other elementary schools expect all our teachers to be supplied with iPads and our classrooms to contain a few iPads each?” Shevlin asked. “I understand from the article that the Willard HSA [Home and School Association] purchased 75 iPads. I understand there are differences in the resources at each HSA’s disposal, but this should not be allowed to affect the quality and comparability of the education of the students in the different schools. When items are critical to successful learning, then distribution of these items across all the schools must be equitable.”
Bid Notice – Snow Plowing Services for Village of Ridgewood – Winter Season
NOTICE TO BIDDERS
Sealed bid proposals will be received by the Village of Ridgewood, in the Level Three Conference Room at the Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07451 on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 11:30 a.m. prevailing time, and then publicly opened and read aloud for following project:
“Snow Plowing Services for the Village of Ridgewood for the Winter Season
Beginning November 1, 2013, through May 1, 2014, inclusive”
The work of the contract shall consist of providing snow plowing services for the Village of Ridgewood. Those services shall include supplying various size specified snowplow trucks, salt trucks, trucks for hauling of snow, and crews with equipment for the clearing of sidewalks of snow and ice, upon notification, and in accordance with the specifications and technical requirements described in the contract documents. The Village will consider partial awards for supplying the specified size trucks and sidewalk snow clearing crews requested. Upon mutual agreement of all parties, the Village will consider extending this contract for an additional year beyond the term stated.
Specifications and bid forms may be obtained by mail from the office of the Engineering Division, Department of Public Works, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07451, telephone (201) 670-5500, extension 238, for a non-refundable fee of $20.00, per set of bid documents. Documents may be examined or picked up in person between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Engineering Division, Department of Public Works, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07451, Monday through Friday. Prospective bidders requesting bid documents be mailed to them shall be responsible for providing their own postage/delivery service remuneration. No Specifications and/or Proposal forms shall be given out after 4:30 p.m. on Monday, July 29, 2013.
Prices quoted must be net and exclusive of all federal, state and local sales and excise taxes. Bids may be submitted in person or by mail. Mailed bids shall be addressed to the Office of the Village Clerk. The Village assumes no responsibility for loss or non-delivery of any bid to the bid opening location sent to it prior to the Bid opening.
The contractual obligation of the Village of Ridgewood under this Contract for these Items is contingent upon the availability of appropriate funds from which payment for this Contract can be made.
Each bid must be enclosed in a sealed envelope with the name of the bidder thereon and endorsed, “Snow Plowing Services for the Village of Ridgewood for the Winter Season beginning November 1, 2013 through May 1, 2014, inclusive” and must be accompanied by the following: either a certified check, cashier’s check, or Bid Bond (Schedule B), drawn to the order of the Village of Ridgewood for $1,000; a Consent of Surety (Schedule A); a Corporation or Partnership Statement (Schedule C); a Non-Collusion Affidavit (Schedule D); and a Statement of Responsibility (Schedule E). Any award or awards may be made at a later or subsequent time or meeting of the Village Council. All required schedules, that is Schedule A, B, C, D, and E, are required to be submitted on the forms enclosed in the bid documents. No other forms will be accepted.
All contractors, their subcontractors, and material suppliers shall comply with all applicable provisions of the Contractor Business Registration Program, pursuant to Public Law 2004 Chapter 57. Evidence of satisfactory registration(s) shall be submitted at the time of the bid. All bids submitted shall contain a copy of the bidder’s New Jersey Business Registration Certificate.
The successful bidder shall furnish and deliver to the Village of Ridgewood a performance and payment bond in the amount of $10,000.00 as security for the faithful performance of the Contract. Additionally, the successful bidder shall furnish policies or Certificates of Insurance as required by the Contract. In default thereof, the said checks and/or bid bond submitted with the bid, and the amount represented thereby shall be forfeited to the Village of Ridgewood as liquidated damages, not as a penalty.
Proposals submitted by Bidders and/or Bidder’s Insurance Company(ies) not chartered in the State of New Jersey, must be accompanied by proper certificate(s) from the Secretary of State, indicating that such Bidders, Bidder’s Insurance Company(ies), and/or Surety Company(ies)’s is (are) authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey. The Village of Ridgewood reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any informalities or to accept a bid which, in its judgment best serves the interest of the Village. No bids may be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after the date and time set for the opening of bids.
“BIDDERS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 17:27). A complete statement as to these requirements is included in the specifications.”
U.S. Senate candidates in N.J. report campaign fundraising
Repblican Senate candidate Steve Lonegan loaned his campaign $100,000 last month and raised another $93,000 while spending just $900, his campaign disclosed Monday.
Lonegan is vying against physician Alieta Eck of Somerset for the Republican nomination to fill the unexpired term of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died June 3. (Jackson/The Record)
GOP Senate candidate Lonegan pushes for more private investment in transportation projects
Steve Lonegan, the bombastic former mayor of Bogota who is running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, said he wants the private sector to play a bigger role funding future transportation projects, including a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.
Roads and mass transit are two of many areas in which the government should take a more limited role, Lonegan said. (Linhorst & Jackson/The Record)
‘Real Housewives’ husband Joe Giudice’s license trial moved to October
MONDAY, JULY 15, 2013 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY JULY 15, 2013, 1:51 PM
BY JOHN PETRICK
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
The much-anticipated criminal trial of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” husband Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice on forgery charges has been bumped to the fall season – on the court calendar that is, not on Bravo TV’s schedule.State Superior Court Judge Greta Gooden Brown set a new trial date for Oct. 28. Giudice’s trial was supposed to begin Monday but was postponed because defense attorney Miles Feinstein, of Clifton, said an unexpected scheduling change caused a conflict with a homicide trial in Sussex County.
Giudice, a 43-year-old Montville resident, allegedly used his brother Pietro’s identity in June 2010 to obtain a driver’s license at the Motor Vehicle Commission office in Paterson. Obtaining a false driver’s license in New Jersey is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Authorities allege that Giudice used marriage and birth certificates belonging to his 39-year-old brother to obtain the license. Giudice’s license was suspended at the time for driving while intoxicated after he flipped his pickup inMontville in January 2010.
Ridgewood doctor charged with storing bomb-making materials wants to be own lawyer
MONDAY JULY 15, 2013, 6:34 PM
BY KIBRET MARKOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
A Ridgewood doctor accused of stockpiling large amounts of bomb-making materials at his home told a judge on Monday that he wants to be his own attorney.
Roberto Rivera said at his arraignment in Superior Court in Hackensack that he does not want to be represented by the Bergen County Public Defender’s Office, which was assigned to his case shortly after Rivera’s arrest in November 2012.
Judge Edward Jerejian instructed Rivera to make a formal request by September to represent himself in court.
Jerejian entered a not-guilty plea on Rivera’s behalf as the 61-year-old physician was arraigned on an 11-count indictment that charges him with causing the risk of widespread damage by storing large amounts of hazardous materials.
Rivera also is charged with unlawful possession of assault weapons.
3rd in the nation for culinary arts! Ridgewood teen chef has recipe for her future plans
MONDAY JULY 15, 2013, 2:15 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Scher, a talented young chef who placed second among four contestants on a July 2 teen episode of the network’s hit cooking competition series “Chopped,” said that cooking an entrée featuring goat was the trickiest part of the show.
The soon-to-be college student and budding professional chef practiced for “Chopped,” on which chefs have time limits to create dishes with surprise ingredients, by cooking several proteins available at the supermarket. But who would have thought of goat?
“Definitely, the goat was the hardest part. I’d also never tasted it, so I didn’t know how it was supposed to taste,” said Scher, a recent graduate of Bergen County Academies’ (BCA) Academy for Culinary Arts and Hospitality Administration. “Can goat be ‘rare’? I just didn’t know.”
This situation isn’t that “rare” on “Chopped.” Chefs sometimes have never heard of an ingredient, let alone used it.
Ridgewood, N.J. Residents Furious Over Unexpected PSE&G Project
Utility Company Plans To Replace Power Lines All Over Bergen County
July 15, 2013 9:05 PM
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Residents in one New Jersey neighborhood have told a power company “not in my neighborhood.” The outcry began when PSE&G began replacing 35-foot utility poles with poles that are twice as tall.
“I was not given any notice that they were putting 69,000-volt lines in my neighborhood,” Alyssa Steinberger told CBS 2′s Christine Sloan on Monday.
Residents told Sloan that the change came without warning.
“I came home from the gym and couldn’t get to my street,” Steinberger said. “My street was closed off and there were cones at the end of each street.”
A PSE&G spokesperson said that the company notified village officials in advance and blamed the mix-up on a miscommunication,
Size of utility poles shocks Ridgewood
MONDAY, JULY 15, 2013 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY JULY 15, 2013, 11:00 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
They tower over Hope Street and Spring Avenue, 65-foot-tall wooden utility poles that clear the treetops of Ridgewood, are built to withstand powerful storms, and can support wires that handle up to 69,000 volts — energy for an increasingly power-hungry public.
But the poles, there will be 78 of them in the village helping to connect high-voltage lines from a Fair Lawn substation with one in Paramus, have already drawn the ire of residents, who say Public Service Electric and Gas didn’t notify them about the work. Village officials on Monday asked the utility to stop installation until a public meeting could be held where residents can ask PSE&G representatives questions about the program.
In an email Monday afternoon, Mayor Paul Aronsohn instructed PSE&G “to halt all further work related to the installation of new, larger poles until such a meeting can occur and until the health and safety concerns expressed by me and several of our residents are addressed.” It is not the first time Ridgewood has objected to a PSE&G program. Officials also stopped work a couple of years ago — again to let residents ask questions — when the utility was installing 3-foot-by-5-foot solar panels on utility poles.
Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch May Be In Trouble
July 15,2013
Ridgewood NJ, Well it’s summer 2013 and still things up at Northwest Bergen Central Dispatch located on Garber Square in Ridgewood have been in a downward spiral. Sources say that for starters at least 7 full time employees have resigned in the last 2 months. With staffing levels at minimum / below minimum I was told no one is able to take off. Reasons for the mass exodus has to be the pay rate of low 30s a year for full time employees with no pay structure to follow. It’s been known that the director had to fill in shifts because no one wants to work anymore.
For such a serious and professional place of business something needs to change. I was told the air conditioning hasn’t been working for at least 4 weeks for the current employees and its been between 78-82 degrees inside the call center. They were told to come in shorts and t shirts until it can get fixed. I’m thinking its one thing for the employees to be hot but the hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars of equipment that can overheat in that center, it’s scary to even think about. You would think Ridgewood and Glen Rock who own Central Dispatch would help them out with portable ac units or something to withstand the heat.
Over and over again I hear complaints about this agency and it would be nice for the people to realize how the hero on the other end of the 911 telephones are getting treated. Maybe it’s time to switch up the head staff and get a manager in that place that knows how to function a business!
It’s vacation time and the burglars are hard at work in North Jersey
MONDAY, JULY 15, 2013 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY JULY 15, 2013, 2:02 PM
BY KARA YORIO
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Summer is the busy season for lifeguards, ice cream truck drivers — and burglars.
July and August are the months with the most home break-ins, according to the FBI. People go on vacation, and their homes become easy targets.
“Most burglary suspects do not want to engage somebody,” said John Ward, Ridgewood police chief. “They want a quick in-and-out.”
Empty houses provide that. Homeowners are not helpless, however, and can take a number of steps to keep their property safe.
Ward recommends running radios and televisions on timers, just as you would do with lighting.
“The idea is to make the house appear occupied,” Ward said. Dry cleaning hanging on a door, something he often sees, is an instant clue that no one is home, he said.
Ridgewood and other towns maintain vacant-house lists, which allow residents to inform the police that they will be away. Some towns also have community and crime prevention officers who will survey a residence and make security recommendations.
Over 80 Patriots marched under the NJTPC banner and alongside our float in the Ridgewood NJ July 4th Parade. It was a wonderful event.
But of course, an opponent to freedom and liberty tried to misrepresent NJTPC and misrepresent our efforts….A parade spectator wrote a letter that spread lies about NJTPC and the Gadsden Flag.
The Ridgewood News entitled “Use of Gadsden flag ‘offensive”
NJTPC’s own Tim Adriance took this opportunity to educate MS. Chalek about NJTPC and the Gadsden Flag. Here’s Tim’s eloquent response:
“To The Editor of the Ridgewood News
In response to the letter to the Editor “Use of Gadsden flag ‘offensive” (July 12) – The writer simply does not have her “facts” straight. The NJ Tea Party Coalition was the local group who proudly marched in the Ridgewood Independence Day Parade, and if the writer had simply gone to our website (https://www.njteapartycoalition.org) she would have found that we neither contribute to nor sponsor any candidates, we do not take a stand on any social issues, we are not focused on any one individual issue other than supporting our Constitutional rights, and we are not part of any national organization. It is against our bylaws to endorse candidates, contribute to any political individual or cause, or lobby as a group – any such activity would be a violation of our IRS status – we simply create a forum where people are educated and given the opportunity to act on their own as private citizens.
It was clearly evident in the parade we are truly grassroots – composed of simple women, men, moms & dads, young people, older folks, and veterans. We had no corporate entity donating their time, vehicles, or money to us – our float was paid for by our members in passing the hat at our meetings. We are local people who are proud of our country, our history, and The Declaration of Independence.
Our members are from every social, economic, political, and religious background and we find agreement in our mission statement –
“The New Jersey Tea Party Coalition exists to protect our liberties by restoring and defending the principles within our Nation’s foundational documents, and by promoting unity with other Patriots throughout New Jersey and the United States.” Simply put we in The NJ Tea Party Coalition are proud Americans.
I whole heartily agree that the Ridgewood Parade Committee does a wonderful job in volunteering in a professional way to present the best parade in the NJ / NY metro area. The parade is all inclusive as the parade rules state – as long as you are there to celebrate our great country, which we at the New Jersey Tea Party Coalition have done for the last five years.
As to the Gadsden flag its history and use was perfect for the theme of the Parade – The Declaration of Independence. The flag has roots in the American Revolution and was used by our founders. It was the first flag of the Marines, and used on recruiting posters in WWII. After the tragic events of 9/11 the Don’t Tread On Me flag with the snake (which the writer found so offensive) was ordered to be flown on every U.S. Navy ship in place of the official flag representing the United States. Today the spirit of our founders lives on and we in our local Tea Party fly the Gadsden flag as a symbol to affirm as The Declaration of Independence declares “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” – that would be “We The People” – folks like you, me, the people of Ridgewood, and even the writer of the letter who was so offended.”
Tim Adriance
Executive Board member of
The New Jersey Tea Party Coalition
Tim Adriance
201- 674-8031
86 East Main St
Bergenfield NJ 07621
Evaluating Education Policy in the Student Success Act
Lindsey Burke
July 11, 2013 at 4:37 pm
The House will debate the Student Success Act over the next week, which provides a few good first steps toward limiting burdensome federal intervention in education. But in its current form, the proposal has some serious policy limitations.
On the positive side, the bill would eliminate some of the most onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), such as Adequate Yearly Progress, which mandates universal student proficiency; the Highly Qualified Teacher provision, which requires prospective teachers to secure paperwork certification that has little to no relevance to classroom performance; and maintenance-of-effort regulations that require states to spend money to access federal dollars.
On the other hand, the Student Success Act prescribes how school districts are to evaluate teachers and requires them to make personnel decisions that reflect these new regulations. Title II of the proposal mandates that
states shall use funds to develop and implement a teacher evaluation system that—
• uses student achievement data derived from a variety of sources as a significant factor in determining a teacher’s evaluation, with the weight given to such data defined by the local educational agency;
• uses multiple measures of evaluation for evaluating teachers;
• has more than 2 categories for rating the performance of teachers;
• shall be used to make personnel decisions, as determined by the local educational agency.
While tying student achievement data to teacher evaluations, using multiple measures of evaluation, and basing personnel decisions on these outcomes is good policy, it should belocal school district policy—not policy the federal government should be dictating.
The Student Success Act also lacks an important reform: portability of Title I funds. Title I, which provides federal funds to low-income school districts, should be reformed to allow states to make their Title I funds portable, following a student to any public or private school of choice. Conservatives have long championed giving states the option to make Title I dollars portable, and any rewrite of NCLB should, at a minimum, contain Title I portability.
Absent these reforms to the Student Success Act, the proposal contains policy shortcomings that overwhelm some of the improvements to existing statute that it could create.
Reader says It’s disturbing to see how much venom is directed towards anyone in authority in Ridgewood
It’s disturbing to see how much venom is directed towards anyone in authority in Ridgewood. Village Councils, past and present have shown they can screw things up as well as any governing body but this blog continues to incite knee jerk outrage and a mob mentality. The slanted spin written into the headlines by the blog administrator is anything but objective……there has to be an ulterior motive.
